Mr. Peterson was born in Omaha Nebraska. His mother’s family was engaged in real estate development and related activities in Omaha, while his father’s family was in the ranching business in western Nebraska. Mr. Peterson learned about both while growing up, both in an intellectual and a practical sense. He was educated at Brown University, and at the University of Denver College of Law. Immediately after finishing law school, Mr. Peterson was lucky enough to be able to move to Aspen Colorado where he began his law practice, and his ongoing love affair with Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. He has resided in Aspen since September of 1975.

Mr. Peterson, in either his personal, or professional capacity, has been involved in resort development and real estate for in excess of thirty five years in resort areas all over the United States and the rest of the world, including Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, California, and South Carolina, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. He has also participated in the development of commercial and residential property in the urban areas of Colorado. Peterson and his former law firm were involved in obtaining the approvals, supervising construction and otherwise representing the owners of some of the most significant and expensive land developments in the Aspen area. In particular, as a principal, Mr. Peterson was primarily responsible for the obtaining of the approvals for The Residences at Little Nell located at the base of Aspen Mountain from the City of Aspen. This project, when approved, was the largest development ever approved at on or near Aspen Mountain. This project has historically been the most successful shared ownership project in the country. Mr. Peterson also serves on the Executive Committee for that project. The Executive Committee supervised the construction of the project from 2004 through 2008, and was been responsible for the administration of the project since completion in December of 2008. Since the completion of construction, he has been responsible for the sales and marketing of this project, and he served as the President of RLN HOA, supervising the administration of a budget for the project in excess of Eight Million Dollars per annum. Mr. Peterson has also supervised all of the legal matters for RLN since the inception of the project. In addition, Mr. Peterson has served on three land use code revision task forces in Pitkin County and the City of Aspen, and he has lectured planners and attorneys regarding land use procedures, construction and development in Colorado.

Mr. Peterson also serves as a trustee of several trusts of high net worth families, and has been extensively involved in non profit work since moving to Aspen in 1975. He served as the President of the Aspen Valley Ski Club for 13 years, and served for four years on the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Valley Community Foundation. Mr. Peterson has also served as an arbitrator and mediator through the offices of the American Arbitration Association and otherwise since 1985. He has arbitrated numerous construction disputes wherein the value of the construction was in excess of Twenty Million Dollars. He has also successfully mediated a large number of construction, real estate and contractual disputes. He has also testified as an expert witness in litigation. Mr. Peterson has held the highest possible AV attorney rating from Martindale Hubbell since the 1980’s. He is a member of the Colorado Bar Foundation, a group of lawyers selected by their peers for their outstanding professionalism and ethical standards. Mr. Peterson has been the Municipal Judge in Aspen Colorado since 1981, and when appointed was one of the youngest judges in Colorado.

Mr. Peterson, in his capacity as a Manager of Aspen Blue Sky Holdings LLC and its affiliated companies, is presently involved in a development project in Sun Valley, Idaho. In 2012, Mr. Peterson teamed with the Souki family to form Ajax Holdings LLC. Since 2012 that company has acquired commercial and residential real estate in Aspen Colorado and the Roaring Fork Valley with values in excess of One Hundred Million Dollars, as well as Coldwell Banker MasonMorse Inc., a real estate brokerage firm with a fifty year history in the Aspen area. Mr. Peterson now serves as Manager of Ajax Holdings LLC and all of its affiliated companies, as well as CEO of Coldwell Banker MasonMorse. Ajax Holdings LLC is currently actively engaged in eight development projects in the Aspen area, including the development of one of the most iconic ranches in the area, the renovation of commercial real in downtown Aspen, and the construction of new homes from Aspen to Carbondale.

Mr. Peterson resides in Aspen with his very spoiled golden retrievers, Wynn and Apple. Mr. Peterson is an avid skier, hiker, biker, surfer, and golfer when time can be found.